The present invention relates generally to a method of manufacturing a clevis end connecting rod.
In railroad car trucks, the use of a number of different clevis end connecting rods is required, particularly for the braking mechanism and brake linkage. For example, truck lever connection rods, brake cylinder push rods, and brake rod ends are required for interconnecting the brake linkage. All of these rods have a clevis end at at least one end of the connecting rods, which is bifurcated and has spaced aligned holes for connection to another linkage member. Some of the clevis ends are provided with a plurality of spaced transverse clevis pin holes or bores to permit adjustable clevis pin connection for different required lengths of connecting rods in the linkage system.
These brake rods and connections are generally manufactured or fabricated by hot drop forge techniques. In other words, the clevis end of the rods are formed from enlarged ends of a basic metal rod by forging techniques. This provides a very adequate and strong clevis end brake rod or connecting rod; however, the method of manufacture with hot forging techniques is extremely expensive and energy consuming.
It is a principal object of the present invention to manufacture a clevis end brake rod or connecting rod strictly by cold working techniques, with the exception of welding, to provide a less expensive brake rod or connecting rod which is equally as strong as the prior art members.